This invention relates to a process for purifying immune serum globulins. More particularly, the invention relates to a process for purifying immune serum globulins from a crude plasma protein fraction.
Blood plasma proteins serve a wide variety of functions in the mammalian body. These proteins are involved in the maintenance of blood volume, viscosity, osmotic pressure, and other important physical parameters. Certain plasma proteins are themselves important biologically active molecules or act as carriers for vital nonprotein molecules. A large group of plasma proteins is concerned with the immune response. The immune serum globulins, also known as gamma globulins, include antibodies directed against many disease causative agents.
Fractionation of human plasma has long been used to produce therapeutic materials containing one or more of the plasma proteins in concentrated and purified form to achieve optimal clinical usefulness. Various fractionation schemes have been employed for recovering clinically useful proteins from human plasma. One scheme in widespread use is the well-known Cohn fractionation method, which is based on differential precipitation using cold ethanol. Cohn et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 68, 459 (1946).
The Cohn fractionation procedure initially produces crude plasma protein fractions, which are subsequently refined to purified products.
A need exists for an efficient process for purifying an immune serum globulin fraction from a crude plasma protein fraction. Such a process should be amenable to large scale production and should inactivate any blood-carried viruses which might be present in the crude plasma fraction.